Every Other Way
by Samurai Smee
Summary: Jonathan Crane has been lying low. Upon realizing that the Joker has broken out of Arkham and wants Scarecrow to join him, Crane and Batman come to an understanding. BatxCrow pairing, folks. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Every Other Way

**Chapter One**

A delicate hand raised to closed eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in contemplation as well as in effort to ward off the offending headache, his other hand clutching his beloved burlap sack while he sat.

The brown-haired male took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed, wanting to ignore his reality for only a moment longer even though he could hear footsteps rushing towards him.

"Sir! Mister Scarecrow...uh, sir...?" the noisy goon announced his presence as he stopped running and placed his hands on his knees while he caught his breath.

Jonathan Crane lowered his hand from his face and slowly opened his ice-blue eyes, casting an uncaring stare towards his panicking henchman.

"What is it now?" Crane's velvet-smooth voice sifted through the stale atmosphere of the warehouse they were currently in, providing almost something musical to be heard in the midst of so much struggling.

"It's...it's the Bat!" the stocky, unkempt goon finally exclaimed, standing upright and adjusting the grip on his handgun at his side, "...he took out four of our guys out on the dock and he's heading this way!"

The lovely criminal mastermind nicknamed Scarecrow pursed his luscious lips together in though, not impressed with his henchman's warning as he took his time standing up from his chair, wordlessly turning towards the nearby table and gathering the papers that he had had scattered there.

"You should probably get out of here, sir!" the nameless lackey offered to his boss, only to hear Jonathan Crane's soft chuckle.

The lights suddenly out, leaving only the back-up battery-powered set to switch on that cast a shallow, yellow glow to dot across the wide area inside the warehouse, Jonathan continuing to file his paperwork back inside his briefcase while the male by his side held his gun at the ready and nervously turned this way and that.

"This is not good...this is not good..." the henchman's voice wavered while he pointed his gun at shadows, his breathing obnoxiously hard and it was the only sound present in the room.

"Will you get a grip...we will just need to lose him," Jonathan spoke sternly but not harshly as he snapped his briefcase closed, pulled it off of the table, and began to stride towards the rear of the warehouse to where the other exit was located.

The other male hurried to catch up to his employer, both of them jogging towards the set of large, double doors within view, trying to be careful of the several rows of crates that blocked their path.

"Hey, Scarecrow...wait up...whoa!" the male had spoken before suddenly calling out and the gritty sound of his voice stopping short.

Crane whipped around upon hearing the other man suddenly stop speaking, the former psychiatrist's heart thumping inside his chest while he clutched his briefcase in both hands.

The henchman was nowhere in sight.

He started to back up slowly, taking his time in placing each foot behind the other while he narrowed his hauntingly beautiful eyes at the darkness around him.

"I know you're there, Batman..." Crane chanced provoking the masked crusader as he neared the exit step by careful step, a grin curving his lips while he continued, "...so how about you stop playing in the shadows and face me."

Jonathan's back bumped into something solid.

The doctor did not turn around, his genius mind wholeheartedly wishing for the object behind him to be just another wooden crate stacked too high and nothing more.

However, strong, gloved hands quickly wrapped around his arms and spun him around.

Crane gasped in fright, his briefcase dropping to the ground, and his piercing blue eyes widened at the sight of Batman's glaring features behind his jet-black mask.

"What's the matter, Crane?" Batman growled at the trembling, slighter male within his grasp, dark-brown eyes admittedly trailing over the doctor's perfect complexion and full, pouting lips, "...it's alright to make others feel fear until that person is you?"

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the cloaked vigilante.

"Don't act like you know me, Batman...I might be getting off on this," Scarecrow smirked at the taller, stronger man, wanting to catch him off guard by such words, wanting to shock him into making a mistake.

Jonathan tried to wrestle his arms free of the Bat's prevalent strength, but his efforts were to no avail as Bruce only held onto him tighter, almost to his chest in order to prevent him from struggling any more.

"The Joker is looking for you..." Batman spoke in his usual gruff tone, this time catching the good doctor by surprise as Jonathan stopped trying to pull his arms away and instead lifted his genuinely worried gaze up to look upon the dark knight.

"But that can't be...I thought you put him away," Jonathan could not hide the concern from his melodic voice, his eyes lowering back down to Batman's chest as his mind began to race with horrible thoughts as to why that madman would want anything to do with him.

"I did. He's out now...he's been broadcasting a message all over the local networks for the past hour for you to be brought to him," Batman explained, slowly releasing his crushing hold on the smaller male as he trusted that Jonathan would want more details about the situation and would not try to run away.

Crane's lips parted, his eyes trailing over the dirty warehouse ground as he absorbed the information, not even caring anymore that his most hated enemy was standing right before him.

He knew that he was honestly more wary of the Joker...the lunatic that he really was.

Jonathan closed his eyes, not seeing the way Batman took a step closer to him, the latter male honestly fearing that Scarecrow just might pass out from receiving such news.

The doctor opened his eyes and swallowed hard, fixing Batman with a somber stare that sent a small shiver down the billionaire's spine.

"There's no way he can find me...he'll kill me," Jonathan spoke seriously, holding Bruce's chocolate-colored gaze steadily even though he could not see the growing concern finding its way to Batman's features as well.

"I know...that's why I'm keeping an eye on you," Batman reasoned soundly, giving into the nagging urge within himself to lift up a hand and slowly bring it to the side of Jonathan's gorgeous face.

Crane stilled immediately upon being touched so intimately, either from fear or confusion, and he could not tear his eyes away from Batman's features so close to his own while the black-dressed crime-fighter carefully trailed his fingers down one of his cheeks until he could slide them off of his small chin.

"I don't...um..." for all of his credibility and mental prowess of being someone of the utmost intelligence in his field, Jonathan Crane was at a loss for words and he closed his mouth in silent defeat.

"I'm willing to let you go this one time, Jonathan..." Batman affirmed, lowering his hand from Crane's mesmerizing face, his tone sounding a little more natural and softer, "...your men are all outside unconscious. They won't be of any use to you."

Jonathan swallowed hard again, not particularly liking this situation that Batman had wiped out all of his goons and that he was, for all intents an purposes, letting him go to use him as bait to draw out the bigger threat.

"...he'll come looking for me," Crane attempted to argue, a humorless smile curving his lips as he blinked at the way Batman licked his lips and then began to turn away from the doctor.

"I'll be there...I promise," Batman spoke solidly to the dark-haired young man as he spared one more moment to brush his hand against Crane's wrist, before abruptly turning towards the opened skylight, zipping out into the overhanging night faster than Scarecrow could have blinked a second time.

"_Christ...what am I going to do..."_ Jonathan thought, even his inner voice sounding downtrodden at the moment, the doctor bending down to pick up his briefcase from the floor, sighing as he did so.

"Well, one thing is for sure..." Crane spoke aloud to himself, patting his brown leather briefcase and holding the item tightly to his chest, "...I need to make more fear toxin."

Jonathan Crane licked his lips in thought, not minding that he was alone and his surroundings eerily quiet, but greatly fearing this news that had just been brought to his attention.

If the Joker wanted him, Jonathan knew he was a walking target.

Jonathan snorted a brief laugh as he calmly strode out of the warehouse through the opened double doors.

"_The Joker in this makes perfect sense so far...what doesn't make sense..."_ Crane continued to contemplate the night's events as he navigated away from the warehouse and down the docking area towards his parked car,_ "...that look Batman gave me...those strange...touches. What could he possibly have been thinking?"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_The next morning..._

"What was I thinking..." Bruce Wayne scrubbed his face with his hands before dropping his arms and shoulders, leaning forward as he sat in his oversized armchair in the extravagantly decorated lounge at Wayne Manor.

"I let him go...I just...ugh, what was I thinking...maybe I've taken too many blows to the head lately," Bruce spoke aloud to himself, barely watching the national news program that was on the large television in front of him.

"But..." Batman continued, his tone changing, becoming lighter as a ghost of a smile touched his lips while he sat back in his chair, spreading his fingers along the fine, black leather, "...those eyes of his...all of him...so beautiful, it's almost painful."

"Master Wayne...?" a pleasantly accented voice sounded from the doorway, catching the black-haired male's adamant attention as he sat up straight upon seeing his butler and most trusted person in the world enter the room.

"Hello Alfred..." the Wayne heir greeted his butler before going right into the details that were plaguing his mind, knowing that it would have only been a matter of time before Alfred got the facts out of him anyway, "...I ran into Scarecrow last night."

"Dr. Jonathan Crane?" Alfred replied as he set down the tray he had been holding, the aged gentleman sharp as ever as he knew precisely whom Bruce was referring to, "...the young man that that dreadful Joker fellow spoke about on the news? Just how is he faring these days?"

"The one and the same," Bruce affirmed, a vivid image of bright, blue eyes and high cheekbones flashing in his memory for a moment before he concentrated on his response, "...he's be lying low, but last night, it looked like he was in the process of moving some goods."

"Chemicals, perhaps, for more of his toxin?" Alfred asked curiously, always providing the last surviving Wayne family member with solid logic to consider as well as a platform to bounce ideas off of while the two continued.

Bruce pursed his lips and clasped his hands together at his chin, thinking on Alfred's question.

"I'm not sure, but there's a bigger problem," Batman preambled as he looked up towards his most precious person, needing for Alfred to know the whole truth and to judge him accordingly.

"And what might that be, Master Wayne?" Alfred spoke gently, forever displaying infinite patience with his young charge as he could read the anxiety on Bruce's features directed to him.

"I let him go..." Bruce Wayne confessed, almost a comical guilt present in his voice and face while he peered up from his chair to his butler's calm facade.

"You did what now, sir?" Alfred asked calmly, tilting his head a bit to the side, no criticism within his words or gesture at all but he knew the rhetoric would not be lost on the heir.

"I let him go. If the Joker is tracking him down like he said, I'll be able to find him," Bruce explained, his words almost sounding as if he was telling himself in the process.

"Meanwhile, I'm assuming you will need to protect Dr. Crane until the Joker decides to rear his ugly head...?" Alfred Pennyworth assessed the situation correctly as usual, folding his white-gloved hands cordially in front of him.

Bruce nodded solemnly before speaking.

"Yeah...that pretty much sums it up," Batman agreed with a bit of effort, knowing that on the surface the situation looked rather bleak, full of unnecessary hardship on his part as well as risky for all involved.

"Hmm...using one villain to catch another..." Alfred reiterated humorously, causing Bruce to smirk at his dearest friend and confidant, "...maybe you've had too many blows to the head, I suppose."

Bruce laughed as Alfred gave him a pseudo-pointed looked and then made to exit the room, leaving the billionaire to his thoughts as well as the morning tea he had brought.

X

Meanwhile, on the edge of town...

Jonathan Crane stirred his coffee slowly as he sat at his breakfast nook, his other hand holding the morning newspaper as he checked over a few of the articles that had made the print.

"Batman..." he whispered with a certain degree of disdain as well as inquiry, as he read the brief synopsis of the masked vigilante putting several small-time criminals behind bars last night, some of their names Scarecrow recognized as having been his men.

"Wonderful..." Crane spoke the sarcastic comment aloud to himself as he set the paper down on the counter and lifted his coffee mug to his lips, sipping the rich, hot drink carefully.

"_I'm willing to let you go this one time, Jonathan..."_

The former Arkham administrator could still hear Batman's words to him from the night prior, the man behind the dark mask speaking to him as if he had known him, really known him and cared about him.

"...absurd...even for me...maybe Batman has finally lost his mind as well..." Jonathan remarked aloud in order to force himself to stop considering the enigmatic Batman, taking another longer sip of his coffee.

"_I'll be there...I promise..."_

"That does it," Crane announced, annoyed at himself as he remembered another comment the dark knight had spoken so sincerely to him that it had honestly shaken the doctor with its obvious deeper significance, "...this is ridiculous."

Jonathan drained the last of his coffee before nearly slamming the mug on the counter top and raising up from his chair.

He only took a moment to smooth his hands down the front of his pressed, grey suit before walking towards the front door of his apartment, ready to immerse himself in the day and forget about his very present and personified troubles.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Later that night..._

"_It's not going to be like last time...just stop considering it, Crane..."_ Jonathan kept his inner monologue a constant reminder not to focus on the very possible outcome of Batman showing up around each corner and street he passed, as the former psychiatrist hugged his overcoat around his lithe frame tighter and continued walking.

The day had gone by without incident, Scarecrow having made sure not to contact any of his other henchman yet as his run-in with Batman had simply been too soon and he knew that he needed to continue solo for just a little while longer.

Jonathan sighed through his nose as he looked up at the neon sign indicating the quaint bistro he was headed towards and entered the establishment with a chime of the bell hanging overhead.

"Welcome to Homestyle Bistro," the middle-aged woman behind the front counter spoke with a smile, her eyes dancing a bit upon seeing the attractive young man entering the cafe' as he lifted up a dainty hand to brush a few strands of his mocha-colored tresses out of his eyes, "...how may I help you, sugar?"

"Uh..." Crane replied a bit automatically, before straightening his coat and peering up at the chalkboard menu up above through his frameless glasses, "...soup of the day with an Italian sandwich, please."

After a few taps on the computerized cash register, the employee stated the total for which Jonathan paid in cash and then took a seat by a window.

The evening darkness was vast approaching the city, covering patches slowly with a velvety black void, and Crane caught himself watching the skies as if the nighttime posed some sort of unavoidable threat to him, an odd mixture of dread and acceptance within his gaze towards such inky scenery.

Scarecrow frowned as he lowered his eyes to the polished wooden table before him, lifting a hand to his cheek and resting his jaw against his palm as he finally had a moment to calm his racing mind and simply pretend that he was just another faceless citizen of Gotham, waiting for his dinner at a restaurant just like everyone else.

After a few moments, the same woman approached his table with his order in tow, setting down the two plates before him with a friendly smile and more kinds words to offer him.

Batman licked the roof of his mouth with his tongue as he zoomed in with his binoculars, the billionaire currently perched atop the building standing opposite of the bistro Jonathan Crane had entered, peering at the whole exchange between the doctor and the waitress.

It was a bit cooler outside than normal this night, but Bruce hardly paid the temperature difference any mind as he continued to watch intently as Jonathan lifted another spoonful of the soup to his lips, blew cool air across the broth, and then ate the soup with undeniably refined manners.

"_He doesn't look like some common criminal...he never was in the first place...definitely not common..."_ Batman thought quietly to himself, feeling something shift within his chest as he watched as Jonathan Crane ate his meal and sipped at his water, _"...but look at him...he looks totally normal."_

Batman lowered the binoculars, watching him now from the distance he was at amongst all of his surroundings, still able to see when Crane hunched down slightly each time he took another bite of his sandwich.

"_He doesn't look insane or violent at all..."_ Wayne continued to contemplate the younger male in the building across from him who remained blissfully unaware that Batman had been tailing him for the better portion of the evening, _"...if anything...he just looks lonely."_

Bruce frowned, realizing just how true his words were.

"What if he just needs someone...someone who will be permanent in his life, someone who will be there...I wish I could be that for him," Batman whispered out loud to himself, admittedly feeling quite crestfallen as he watched someone as interesting and as stunning as Jonathan Crane have to eat alone, having remained by himself all day and will be going back to his apartment on the western part of the city just the same.

Bruce could picture those beautiful blue eyes of his as Jonathan would smile at him from across that same bistro table if he were there, a friendship established along with a sense of comfort and stability...all the heir would have to do is start being there.

Batman shook his head, silently wishing for things to be different, as he replaced the lightweight binoculars inside his utility belt and stood up.

The striking young man known as Scarecrow had finished his dinner, dabbed at his mouth one more time with his napkin, and then rose up from the table, leaving behind another few bills on the table as a tip for his server.

Batman crouched down low again as he watched Crane step outside of the bistro, his fingers buttoning the last of the golden buttons on his overcoat as he made a left and headed down the proper road to go back towards his apartment complex.

Following the good doctor was easy enough for the caped crusader, as Jonathan made all of the correct turns down the respective streets until he was walking up the steps to his complex, retrieving a set of keys from his pocket as he let himself inside and proceeded to go up to his apartment.

"Thank God nothing happened to him," Batman spoke to himself, seeing as Crane switched on the lights in his apartment located on the third floor of the building, Bruce catching himself wanting to watch the lovely criminal some more but knew that it was time for him to run his patrol of the city and then get to bed himself.

Inside the apartment, Jonathan hung up his dark-grey coat on the built-in rack located next to the entrance, Crane making sure to lock the door before doing anything else.

Satisfied with his front door latched shut, Crane navigated to the semi-enclosed kitchen, his hands already loosening his tie from around his neck and unbuttoning a few of the tiny white buttons from his dress shirt as he opened the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of brown ale.

The cap was easily twisted off and chucked on the counter as Jonathan lifted the bottle to his lips and took a deep swig of the smooth, bitter brew.

"I hate this...I hate feeling...trapped like this..." Scarecrow murmured to no one, placing his palms flat on the cool counter as he peered towards the rest of his apartment or at nothing at all, "...who does this Joker think he is...I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm not helpless..."

Jonathan's jaw clenched before he quickly snatched his ale and drank more of the beverage, knowing that he needed it in order to calm down for the remainder of the night.

Beer in hand, Jonathan walked out of the kitchen and towards the adjacent living room, only pausing to hit a button on the stereo system before walking down the short, white hallway to the back rooms of the apartment.

Classic jazz, smooth and sad, low and melancholic in sound and texture, softly filled the well-kept apartment as Crane entered his bedroom, not bothering to switch on any of the lights as he pulled the tie hanging from around his neck completed off and dropped it on the black-painted bedside table.

Jonathan took one last drink of his ale before falling onto his large, immaculately-made white bed on his back, setting the empty bottle beside his tie on the small table, as he relaxed his body and mind.

One by one, the former Arkham administrator soothed his muscles and released any tension residing there, and it was with a calmed mind that he again thought about Batman.

"He offered his help...I don't know if I can trust him...if I should trust him," Crane spoke his thoughts to the darkened ceiling, bringing up an arm and draping the back of his hand across his forehead, eyes the color of a frozen winter lake starting to close naturally with the weight of his stress and exhaustion.

Crane sighed, the idea swirling inside his genius mind for far too long before he spoke, needing to hear himself say the words, needing to process just how they sounded to his own ears.

"...it would be nice to have someone's help for a change...even if it is from that brute...but...it would be nice..." Jonathan admitted almost as if in lamentation, his eyes closed completely and his breathing beginning to even out, slowly cradling the enticing criminal into a restful slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Three nights later..._

"Can I get you another one?" the rotund, aging bartender asked the drunken yet disheartened young man sitting at the bar, several patrons coming and going from the establishment located on a particularly busy sect of the outskirts of town.

Jonathan lifted his partially focused gaze up from the dark-wooden bar to the round face of the barkeep, the former psychiatrist having already had several glasses of bourbon.

Just as Crane opened his mouth to speak, a voice cut him off from right beside him.

"Yeah, he'll have another one and put it on my tab, Bernie," a charming voice stated for him as a tall male dressed in a tasteful chestnut-brown suit with short blonde hair slid into the seat next to Jonathan, a handsome smile in place as he raked his eyes up and down Crane's sitting frame.

"Uh...thanks. Who are you?" Jonathan spoke candidly, the alcohol having clearly loosened his tongue as he wavered a bit where he sat.

The man's smile only grew bigger across his features upon hearing Jonathan's slightly slurring speech.

"The name's Mickey...what might yours be, darling?" the blonde man introduced himself before leaning in closer to Jonathan, hazel eyes lowering to the criminal's exposed throat before flicking back up to meet half-lidded blue.

Jonathan knew he should make some snide comment to offend this person and make him leave.

He knew he should stop this person dead in their tracks when it came to him thinking that he had a chance with the good doctor.

However, Crane also knew that this attention he was receiving from this perfect stranger...felt incredible...and that in this moment aside from possibly all others, he simply did not care.

"Jonathan..." Crane gave the man his real name, the two of them shaking hands and Scarecrow did not miss how Mickey held onto his hand, rubbing his thumb along the top of his hand as if appreciating how soft his skin was.

"Pleasure to meet you..." Mickey stated, just as the bartender placed drinks for each of them on the bar.

Crane quickly grabbed his glass and lifted it to his lips, swallowing the burning alcohol at an impressive rate while his companion merely sipped at his, watching Jonathan with a shameless stare.

"I gotta hand it to you...you can hold your liquor pretty well for someone so..." Mickey trailed off on purpose, waiting for the brown-haired male to finish his bourbon.

"...someone so what?" Jonathan probed the man to finish his sentence, setting down the empty highball glass and listening to the ice clink against the sides as he cast an impatient and admittedly curious look towards Mickey.

The blonde-haired male's smile turned into a sinister smirk.

"...someone...so..." the man purred into Jonathan's ear, moving closer still as he ran a hand up Crane's thigh until he roughly seized both of the doctor's hands in side his own, his grip almost crushing on the smaller male, "...dead."

Jonathan startled at the man's words, barely having enough time to cast him a questioning look before he was suddenly being pulled off of his bar stool and into the unlit alley next to the bar.

"What the hell is going on...who the fuck are you...get off me!" Jonathan tried to fight back against the taller, stronger male but his actions were in vain as his attempts were made even weaker by the abundant alcohol currently coursing through his system.

"Hush now...wouldn't want to wake the neighbors," Mickey's voice had lost its charm and was bordering on psychotic as he shoved Crane back against the brick wall of the adjacent building.

"Ow..." Jonathan murmured despite himself as his back ached upon being pushed so forcefully as he had, Mickey quickly pinning his hands above his head with one hand.

"Joker's been wanting to get his hands on you..." Mickey declared, pressing the length of his body against Crane's with demanding force as he lifted his free hand to Jonathan's chin and forced the doctor to look at him directly, "...and I can see why. You look good enough to eat, my dear Jonathan Crane...or should I call you...Scarecrow...?"

Jonathan could hardly move, hating the hand that was clutching his chin too harshly, as he made another, last-ditch effort to throw the man off of him with a violent jerk of his body.

Mickey laughed at Crane's efforts, making Jonathan glare all the harder at those glinting hazel eyes, before he suddenly felt the pressure from his wrists and face vanish.

"What...oof!" Jonathan vocalized as Mickey had released his grip on him but only to grab onto his arms and suddenly spin him around, pressing Scarecrow's chest almost completely flat against the brick wall instead.

"I don't think the boss will mind too much if I have a little fun with you before giving you over to him..." Mickey's words dripped from his lips like poison and any kind of inebriation Jonathan had been feeling prior was gone in an instant as he registered exactly what the goon had meant.

"...n-no!" Jonathan panicked, pushing against the wall to try to put some distance between Joker's henchman and himself, the muscles in his arms burning upon so much fruitless struggle but he continued anyway, "...get off of me right now...right now! Oh my God, please don't do this...don't! Get the fuck off, you bastard!"

"Heh...get off...?" the man mocked Jonathan's choice of words to him, Crane hearing the distinct sounds of a belt being undone and the rustling of clothes before he felt hands trail across his hipbones and latch onto his pants, "...that's exactly what I'm trying to do, darling..."

"_Oh my God...this is not happening...this is not happening...what the hell do I do?_ _What do I do?!_ _I __shouldn't have had that last bourbon...why am I such an idiot...Batman...help me...Batman...!"_ Jonathan's mind whirred within the time-frame of only a few second before Crane lifted his head to the sky and yelled.

"Batman! Help! Batman, I need you right now!" Jonathan hollered with what little strength he had left to the midnight skies, and no sooner than had he called out did something even darker than the evening hues dash across his vision from up above the rooftop.

Jonathan held his breath, his eyes widening before squeezing shut as he heard the sound of thick fabric battle with the wind before heavy boots thudded against the pavement.

"Oh holy shit...!" Mickey voiced brokenly from behind Crane before all of his weight suddenly disappeared from Jonathan's back.

Scarecrow kept his eyes shut as he slowly turned around, hearing several, bone-cracking blows being delivered that seemed to echo throughout the otherwise empty alleyway, before Jonathan peeked open his clear-blue eyes to assess the situation.

Mickey was sprawled out unconscious and perhaps barely alive amongst several bags of garbage, his face barely recognizable from the number of bloodied bruises and welts that now covered his flesh, the front of his pants undone.

Batman stood over the offending male, fists still clenched and stance dangerous, as if the crime-fighter wanted the goon to get back up just so he could deliver more of the same brutality to him.

Jonathan put a hand to his stomach, his dry lips parted as he began to hyperventilate, eyes watering a bit from the lack of oxygen.

Batman rushed over to Scarecrow in an instant, placing a gentle hand on the criminal's shoulder while Jonathan started to hunch over.

"It's okay...it's okay now...I gotcha...just breathe...take deep breaths; he's not going to hurt you," Batman tried to console Jonathan, watching with worry present in his chocolate-brown eyes as Crane bent over at the waist and threw up.

Bruce rubbed Jonathan's back as he remained in that position for a moment, spitting on the ground a few times as he breathing evened out and normalized.

"...I think I'm going to give up drinking," Crane joked dryly even though he had yet to stand up straight and face Batman.

Bruce smirked and helped the former psychiatrist to remain steady as he finally straightened his posture and cast a side-glance to Batman by his side, purposefully only letting the vigilante see his profile.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked genuinely, his hand still holding onto Jonathan's arm while the brunette male brought a hand to his face.

"...I am...just doing wonderful, as you can tell," Crane provided sarcastically, a sad smile curving his lips as he carded his own fingers through his brown hair, pushing it out of his face as he refused to make eye contact with Wayne.

Bruce blinked at the forlorn male before him, the thought occurring to him that Mickey's attack on him might have packed a harder punch than he realized to the former asylum administrator.

"Jonathan...please...tell me if anything is..." Batman had begun to speak tenderly to the young man but was cut off as Jonathan laughed out loud.

It was a short, hollow laugh, a condescending laugh...a laugh of a man broken and alone and Bruce felt his heart ache upon hearing it.

"Don't you understand?" Jonathan continued to speak with a humorless smile on his beautiful face as he removed his glasses and placed them inside his jacket pocket, "...I have been quite humiliated enough for one evening, so if it's all the same, I think I would just rather take my leave and forget this ever happened."

The smile fell from Crane's striking features once he finished speaking, his eyes downcast and he stopped moving around as he seemed to have calmed down now that he had gotten such distress off of his chest.

Bruce felt his aching heart finally experience a solid tear.

"I think you should come with me," Batman stated, simply keeping a light grip on Jonathan's arm as he knew the doctor did not have it in him to struggle right now.

Ice-blue eyes glanced up at him.

"You mean back to Arkham? Thanks, but no thanks...have you ever been in there? I think I'll take my chances with more of Joker's idiot goons if you..." Jonathan's voice was impossibly elegant despite the argumentative words coming from his mouth, but Batman patiently shook his head and interrupted Crane's forever silken tone.

"I'm not taking you back to Arkham," the caped crusader reaffirmed, only now using his hold on the criminal to pull him forward so they may face each other directly, and if Bruce was being honest with himself, more intimately, "...I can't chance letting what happened tonight happen again...so I'll take you with me."

Jonathan was speechless, a progress of emotions expressing themselves silently across his features, as Crane could not help but be initially surprised, then worried, then doubtful...

"I um..." Jonathan shook his head to rid himself of any other impeding thoughts, knowing that he only struggled for words and said 'uh' or 'um' when he was nervous, "...I don't think that would be such a good idea. I mean...we haven't even gone out on our first date yet."

Crane also knew that he tried to cover his nervousness with poor jokes from time to time.

The billionaire Bruce Wayne could not help but smile at Crane's strange humor, knowing that he would have laughed out loud if he was not trying to be serious at the moment.

"It's the safest place for you that doesn't involve a padded cell," Batman knew he was speaking the truth, but continued just the same, "...but it's your call. I'll leave the decision to you."

Crane's eyebrows rose upon hearing another act of faith from the man dressed in black.

"I don't understand this...first you trust me enough to let me go in the warehouse...now you're...giving me a choice...?" Jonathan had to recap the situation, eyes narrowing a bit out of sheer confusion as he peered straight into Bruce's warm, mocha eyes, searching them for any signs of fallacy or mistrust and finding none.

"Yes...I want you to be able to trust me..." Batman confessed the little part of information to Scarecrow, bringing a gloved hand to Jonathan's jaw and carefully turning his head a bit as he examined the other man's cheek, "...it's a little swollen, but you'll be alright."

"Oh..." Crane had to remember why his cheek would be injured as he did somewhat hazily recall when that bastard working for the Joker had pushed his face and chest against the brick wall when he had attempted to violate him, "...I can't believe I'm doing this, but then again, I am crazy..."

Batman was almost about to ask what Jonathan had meant by his words but all thoughts rushed out of his head in an instant upon registering that the smaller doctor had thrown his arms around his neck and was hugging him closely.

"Do not get used to this...but...thank you for saving me," Jonathan spoke quietly, somberly burying his face against Batman's chest as his arms held securely onto the Wayne heir, "...I called for you and you were there...just like you said you would...thank you."

Another tear found its way along Batman's already compromised heart.

Batman breathed easier, his shock subsiding and leaving him with just a pleasant feeling of awe and warmth as he heard such words from Jonathan Crane, words that he did not take lightly as he knew that not everyone got to hear such heartfelt gratitude from the reclusive doctor.

Bruce slid his hands up either of Jonathan's slender arms until he could take both of his hands inside his own, their fingers loosely interlacing as Batman lowered their joined hands in between them, softened brown eyes looking affectionately down at light-blue that did not meet his gaze.

"You're welcome, Jonathan..." Bruce spoke almost completely in his regular voice before catching himself and then continuing, "...so...what's it going to be?"

Crane furrowed his eyebrows together, his teeth worrying his full, bottom lip as he slowly pulled his hands out of Batman's hold while he thought over his predicament and outcomes.

"If I go with you...how long of an arrangement are we talking about?" Crane asked fairly, wringing his hands together for only a second before the former psychiatrist noticed his nervous habit and wrapped his arms around himself.

"Until I catch the Joker. He needs to be behind bars before I know you're safe," Batman answered without hesitation, his words causing Crane's trepidation to increase tenfold as he cast his worried sky-colored gaze off to a side before replying.

"I'm a fool...I'm an absolute fool..." Jonathan sighed out loud, dropping his arms from around his frame before turning around in his place, his back now facing Batman as he took a few deep breaths.

Batman smiled sympathetically at Crane's obvious struggle with accepting help from another individual, the ex-psychiatrist putting his hands on his hips as he forced himself to relax to think over the situation clearly.

"...I hate that you're right...given the circumstances," Scarecrow spoke, his words directed towards the vacant alley rather than Bruce Wayne behind him, "...I don't even know what the hell the Joker wants with me...but...you do have a point."

Bruce could not help but hide his inner elation upon hearing someone as intelligent as Crane succumbing to his idea, agreeing in his own way to the solid logic Batman has posed to him.

"Alright...I'm done debating...let's get out of here...together," Jonathan Crane said a bit morosely, finally turning back around to face his adversary and, consequently, his savior, as he lowered his hands to his sides and cast his naturally alluring stare directly towards the caped crusader.

Batman breathed a smirk, satisfied with Crane's answer and feeling better because of it as he stepped to Jonathan's side, keeping his gaze firmly on each one of Jonathan's features as he neared the criminal.

"Batman..." Jonathan looked down as he spoke, the thoughts inside his head clearly causing him some grief to be felt as he found his next words more than difficult to be said aloud to the frightening crime-fighter before him as he placed a fair, pale hand along Batman's arm, careful to avoid the sharp armor located there, "...I'm trusting you."

"I know..." Bruce replied steadfastly, his heart heavy in his chest upon seeing the way the smaller man desired to touch him as he had, the billionaire detective knowing all too well just how important and valuable that small amount of trust he had just earned from Jonathan Crane truly was.

He would not let him down.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"_...peaceful...looks just like a fallen angel...all he needs is some guidance..."_ Batman found himself thinking in the far corners of his mind about the slumbering male sitting next to him in the tumbler, Jonathan's small frame bouncing slightly every now and then that they hit a particularly rough bump on the way back to the batcave.

"_...has to be taken to the cave...as much as I would like to set him up in his own room in the house, I can't risk him finding out who I am...he's too sharp; he would figure it out eventually,"_ Bruce continued to think out his rather hastily thrown-together plan, pushing a button on the elaborate console of the vehicle, calling the one person he needed to speak to right away.

"Yes, sir? Is everything quite alright?" Alfred's voice chimed through the communicator reserved just for him.

"Sort of...we have company. I'm taking him to the cave. Could you have some tea and coffee ready? He's going to need it when he wakes up," the Wayne heir provided as little details as possible for right now, chancing even speaking this much in front of the sleeping Crane by his side.

A quick glance to Jonathan's smooth features told him that the villain referred to as Scarecrow was still snoozing.

"I understand. I'll have all the preparations made to accommodate our guest," Alfred replied after a beat and then Batman ended the comm link and drove faster until he could veer from the city streets of Gotham and towards the woods.

Bruce easily navigated the tumbler through the dense trees with his infrared screens showing him the way and it was with a slight boost that he steered both himself and his single passenger through the pouring waterfall and into the hidden entrance to the batcave.

Crane remained asleep and Batman supposed that he had the liquor that the doctor had consumed prior to their meeting to thank for that.

Batman opened the top of the vehicle, stood partially up in his seat, and carefully reached down to pull Jonathan Crane into his arms.

"Excuse me, sir..." Alfred announced his presence as he finished locking down various computer systems located in the batcave as well as made sure that Crane's tea and light snack were piping hot, "...I believe everything is ready when you are...and might I inquire...is that the infamous Dr. Crane you're holding?"

Bruce carried the former head of Arkham over to a cot that Alfred had prepared, gently resting Jonathan down amongst the pillows and blankets there before answering.

"It most certainly is...Alfred..." the Wayne heir turned to face his most trusted person, removing the mask as he fixed the aged butler with a serious look, "...every time he needs something and I'm not here...he'll need to put this on."

Bruce dropped a blindfold on the table right next the steaming cups of tea and coffee.

"I can't risk him seeing you or knowing who you are," Bruce explained gravely, knowing that if Jonathan did find out, it could put both of their lives at risk.

"Very wise, indeed," Alfred grinned at the billionaire with a pointed look in his eyes before casting his gaze down at the handsome young man currently in their care, "...I'll watch over him, sir. I promise."

Bruce smiled and clasped a hand on his dearest companion's shoulder.

"Thank you...I'll explain later," Batman promised before striding away to the lift, leaving Alfred to continue looking over the slumbering criminal with the face of an deity.

"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Crane," Alfred spoke comically to the unconscious male, bowing his head, as he picked up one of the extra blankets, unfurled the length of it, and then draped it over Jonathan's lean frame, "...I guess I'll be taking care of you for awhile...might as well see that you don't freeze to death your first day here, I gather."

X

Many hours later...

Scarecrow groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, having to blink a few times to adjust to the almost glowing darkness around him as he began to sit up.

"That's weird..." Jonathan remarked aloud, noticing that a blanket fell off of his chest upon sitting up on a surprisingly soft surface.

Crane raised a few of his fingers to his eye, rubbing away at the residing drowsiness there as he registered the dull but very present ache in his head, the pain reminding him just how much he had had to drink last night.

"Good morning, Doctor Crane...how are you feeling, sir?" sounded a pleasant, English accented voice from the several speakers located overhead, causing the former psychiatrist to lower his hand from his face and glance at the corners of the spacious area curiously.

"Uh...who's there...? Where am I?" Jonathan asked out loud, figuring that if he could hear this other person, then they could hear him as well.

"Ah, yes," the cheery, old-sounding voice continued, "...you are currently in a place in which Batman can personally see to your well-being. You are most safe here, I assure you."

"Right..." Jonathan commented dryly with a frown as he lifted more of the thick blanket off of his frame and then slid his legs off of the edge of the cot, only to have his ice-blue eyes nearly cross as his hangover-induced headache pulsed along one side of his brain.

"I took the liberty of getting you a few things, sir. You'll find them on the table right next to you," Alfred commented knowingly, and it occurred to the criminal mastermind that this person speaking to him must be able to see him if they had known the exact moment he had been in pain.

Crane turned around to face the other direction, spotting a long table next to his cot as well as a tray that had two cups of water, one cup of tea, one of coffee, a few tablets for his headache, and some cookies.

Jonathan's eyes widened as he blinked at the thoughtful preparations.

"Um...thank you, whoever you are..." Crane spoke a bit awkwardly as he reached forward for the tablets and water, swallowing them without hesitation as he longed to be rid of that ringing in his head.

"You may call me Al, my dear boy," Alfred offered warmly, "...should you need anything, you only need to ask...oh, and you'll need to put on that blindfold right there as well."

"Blindfold...?" the brown-haired male murmured aloud as he delicately picked up the smooth, black cloth, feeling its texture and weight in between his fingers for a moment why he thought on why he would need such an item.

"Yes, sir. It is for everyone's protection, if you don't mind me saying," Alfred's voice was crisp yet careful and the butler could see the way Jonathan's shoulders dropped from the real-time monitors that he was currently watching from inside Wayne Manor.

"Don't despair, sir. I'm sure everything will turn out alright in the end," Alfred provided his usual uplifting attitude, smiling once he saw Crane take a deep breath and silent nod his head in agreement.

"So...Al...uh..." Jonathan began, smirking a tiny, almost playful smile as he flashed his lovely blue orbs up, "...I don't suppose you know where a guy can get a turkey sandwich on whole wheat, do you...?"

"On whole wheat, you say? Why, I do suppose I could whip up something if you're hungry, Dr. Crane," Alfred piped up happily, delighted that the Wayne Manor guest was being easy to get along with, even becoming a pleasure to service to the aged butler of the prestigious family.

Jonathan's head shot up immediately in surprise.

"Really? I mean...you're really going to make me a turkey sandwich?" Crane had to repeat the words aloud, eyebrows lifting as he heard the kind old man chuckle bemusedly.

"Why not? It is what I'm here for, you know," Alfred reasoned easily before adding, "...remember...blindfold on, yeah?"

"...yeah," Jonathan agreed, his tone odd and a little disheartened as he picked back up the black material, looked at it, and then brought it to his eyes.

Crane successfully tied a knot a the back of his head, and no later than a few minutes later did Jonathan hear the automated lift that he had spotted in the far corner of the cave activate, signaling that someone was coming to him.

The former psychiatrist straightened where he sat, his hands in his lap as he perked up upon hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching, the doctor turning his shielded eyes towards the person.

"Al? Is that you?" Jonathan could not help but voice such questions, needing to hear the affirmative and not just make an assumption.

"It certainly is, sir... I trust you're hungry; I might have gotten a bit carried away," Alfred chuckled as he approached the sitting male, placing a gloved hand on the doctor's shoulder before setting down a large, ceramic plate on his lap.

Crane's lips parted upon feeling the weight of the heavy plate sitting on his legs, having just expected the sandwich and nothing more.

"There is...one turkey sandwich on whole wheat, a few different kinds of crisps I thought you might like, and I even threw in a nice, red apple for you if you wanted it," Alfred advised Scarecrow efficiently.

"Wow...thanks, Al. It's...perfect," Jonathan felt humbled, truly humbled as a man who had done wrong...and was now in the presence of so much good.

Jonathan Crane felt small, his trials insignificant, and most of all...he felt guilty.

"Um...I don't really know how to say this..." Jonathan's melodic voice sang through the dense atmosphere in its naturally low, calm tone, "...would you mind staying with me for a little while?"

Alfred grinned a sympathetic smile at the young man before him and sat down on a chair at the table next to him.

"Of course, sir," the butler agreed, delighted as he saw Jonathan smirk gratefully before lifting the sandwich to his mouth, biting off a large amount.

"Mmm..." Crane hummed in satisfaction, one of his cheeks puffed out while he ate the sandwich as it there was time limit, "...this is excellent."

Alfred smiled at the blindfolded young man before him, watching as he finished his sandwich quickly, prompting the attentive butler to retrieve a glass of water from behind him and carefully place it in his hands.

"Thanks, Al..." Jonathan spoke before using both hands and sipping at the ice water that had been brought for him, "...so...do you...work here or something?"

"Why yes, Dr. Crane. I've been here for many, many years; most certainly before you were born," Alfred tried to not to reveal too much information while still making polite conversation with the criminal mastermind before him.

Jonathan shrugged his shoulders in understanding as he nibbled on a few of the potato chips from his plate.

"How about I turn on the television for you, eh?" the aged butler offered warmly before getting up and walking over to one of the several monitors that lined one corner of the cave next to several workbenches and computers, "...surely you would appreciate some better entertainment than a old man chatting away at you."

Jonathan smiled as he carefully set down his plate on the table next to him, making sure that the whole thing was safely on the surface before removing his hand, ears perking up whence he heard the butler flip through a couple of channels he stopped on a local news station.

"Hmm.. seems like the stocks are taking a turn for the worse...that's unfortunate..." Alfred commented to Scarecrow as Jonathan stood up and stretched his legs, giving his neck a good rolling from side to side as he listened to the butler speak about what was being shown the news.

"Good Lord...what the bloody hell is this now...?" Alfred's calm voice turned sharp in an instant, the sound of which compelling Jonathan to abandon stretching his limbs as he focused his hearing on the television.

"_...athan Crane...bring me...Jonathan Crane...you know who I'm talking about, you...cowards...of Gotham..."_ a sickening sing-song voice tinged with madness spoke from the news broadcast, the very sound of which made the former psychiatrist go rigid before he blindly made his way over to the monitors and Alfred.

"Al...I need to see this...you'll need to move, but...I..." Jonathan warned the kind butler as he rushed over to him, his hands feeling for the length of the table he knew was there as he navigated around it.

"Alright...alright..." Alfred spoke softly, worry etching its way onto his wrinkled features as he placed his hands on Jonathan's back and righted him in front of the television screen.

Crane was breathing hard, trembling, as Alfred stood behind him so he could not be seen, and then slowly lifted up his blindfold so the doctor could see what was happening.

Crane swallowed hard upon seeing the Joker's terribly scarred and messily painted face on the monitor as he appeared to be walking while filming the message.

"_...knock knock...?" _Joker continued, holding up a perfectly folded origami crane for the camera to see as purple-gloved hands gently pulled on the tail and beak to make the wings flap, _"...what is one of the rarest and most exquisite birds ever to come across this earth, hm? And when it flies, it's like watching magic happen... don't know? A CRANE! Ha ha ha!"_

Scarecrow felt like throwing up the meal he had just eaten, but then he felt a warm, gloved hand plant itself on his shoulder...and he knew that it was Al behind him, figuratively as well as literally.

He continued watching.

"_Jonny...if you're out there watching this..."_ Joker turned a hard stare towards the camera, as if he was bored or agitated, _"...we're going to come find you...and when we do find you...it's not going to be pretty and you will join me to take over this pathetic city full of miscreants you know you want to torture. Am I right, Jonny?"_

Jonathan began hyperventilating again, his breathing ragged and uneven in an instant.

Alfred sprang into action, yanking down the blindfold to cover Crane's eyes as he grabbed him in a great embrace and starting rubbing his back in large, soothing circles.

"Now, now...you're safe here, remember? Breathe, son...breathe..." Alfred consoled the panicking young man in his arms, letting Jonathan tug on his clothes if he needed to as Crane struggled to reign in his nerves and finally slow down his breathing.

"The...blindfold helps, actually..." Jonathan joked in good humor but Alfred could not smile at a time such as this, one of his hands continuing to rub Crane's back much like a worried father would to his asthmatic child to calm them down from a fit.

"How about you rest up for a moment while I go freshen your coffee? How's that sound?" Alfred asked, choosing his words carefully as to not upset Jonathan any more than he already was.

Crane nodded his blindfolded head in agreement to the butler's advice, allowing Alfred to lead him back to his cot and help him to sit down.

"I'll be back," Alfred promised before swiftly taking his exit of the batcave, using the same lift to travel back up to the house as the old man kept his concerned gaze on Jonathan's sitting, unmoving form the whole time.

As soon as he knew the butler had left the area, Crane took the blindfold off, dropping it in his lap as he placed his elbows on his knees and cradled his face in his hands.

"This is a disaster..." Jonathan lamented sorrowfully, "...I mean...who the hell am I...what does he even want..."

Jonathan's eyes closed for a solid moment, his weary body slowly lying back down upon the cot as Crane cast his fading gaze one more time around the hollow-out cave currently surrounded him, the shining black and blue of the glinting rocks, the steady fall of the water several yards away from him...

His mind restless and full of unanswered questions, Jonathan Crane felt asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"How is he?" Batman asked Alfred from the monitors hanging overhead in the batcave, knowing that his butler would be receiving crystal-clear feeds on his end inside the Manor.

"Sir, you might want to ask him that," Alfred provided smartly before adding gravely, "...there was another message from the Joker...it shook him up a bit."

Bruce's stomach flipped.

"Another message...? What did that bastard say this time?" Bruce asked the aged man again, but turned around immediately in his spot upon hearing movement to his left, the billionaire still wearing his batsuit for such a reason.

Jonathan sighed as he sat up, his back facing Batman as he took a moment to card his fingers through his thick, chocolate locks.

"It seems like Dr. Crane will be able to tell you precisely what happened, sir," Alfred concluded with a cheeky smirk before cutting the feed and ending the transmission.

Jonathan whirled around as he stood up upon hearing Alfred's voice, locking eyes with the caped crusader.

"Oh, it's you," Crane said, breaking their gaze as he wrung his hands together and looked off to his right, seemingly searching for something to say.

Batman took his time in walking towards the uncomfortable doctor.

"I know the Joker sent out another message. Tell me what he said," Batman asked squarely, watching as Jonathan quickly swallowed, his kissable lips frowning at the Wayne heir mentioning the painted lunatic.

"He said...he said he's going to find me...and that it wouldn't be pretty," Jonathan echoed some of the words he had specifically heard in the news broadcast, only half-way noticing the way Batman stepped right into his line of sight and peered his mocha-colored gaze directly down at him.

"It's going to be alright..." Batman spoke simply before bringing his hands to Jonathan's nervous hands, holding them steady and waiting patiently for Crane to look up at him.

The criminal hesitated before lifting up his frozen-lake gaze to the Batman's covered features, Crane actually finding that his inner turmoil was beginning to unravel and disappear the more those soulful brown eyes held his gaze so evenly.

"I...I don't um..." Jonathan spoke but just as quickly as he had started speaking, he forgot what it had been that he wanted to say, the ex-psychiatrist feeling pulled into the raw strength and security that he could feel practically radiating from the man dressed in black before him.

"I can always tell when you're nervous..." Batman kept his voice low while he spoke to Jonathan, feeling himself absolutely drown from the way Crane slid his hands up his arms until he could rest them along his biceps, the two of them drawing closer, "...but you don't need to be around me...not anymore."

Crane's lips parted, his eyes lowered to watch Batman's own mouth so close to his own, Scarecrow barely feeling how Bruce's hands gently slid down his back, before he peacefully closed his eyes and leaned forward.

Bruce Wayne captured Jonathan's tempting lips in a demanding kiss, immediately making the smaller male voice a sound of surprise and pleasure, as Crane's grip tightened on Batman's arms in response.

Batman nearly growled from finally tasting Jonathan's full lips, having them move against his own in immediate acceptance,and enthusiasm, as the billionaire felt something buried deep inside of his soul suddenly wedge free, making the vigilante feel immaculately weightless.

The two men only spared a fraction of a second to break off the kiss so they may quickly angle their heads differently and them crush their mouths together once more, Jonathan's smaller frame slowly pressing against Bruce as he unconsciously moved closer still.

The Wayne heir squeezed at Jonathan' back, rumpling his clothes a bit in the process, but the next moment, Crane hurriedly pulled his lips and hands away from the caped crusader.

"Wait...wait...what am I doing..." Jonathan voiced aloud, his body still practically adhered to Batman as he gave his head a little shake to try to clear the impending fog threatening to take over his better senses.

Batman grabbed Scarecrow's wrist and pulled him forward, claiming the criminal's perfect lips in another searing kiss that had Jonathan melting against the taller male all over again from the pure, undaunted need that was behind the crime-fighter's actions.

Jonathan slid his hands to Batman's chest, humming softly against Bruce's lips as the taller male flicked his tongue against the villain's supple lips before gently nibbling on Jonathan's bottom lip with his teeth.

Jonathan's breath caught in his throat, his eyebrows arching as if he was silently begging for more, but Batman purposefully released his lip from his teeth, placing a quick kiss to him before speaking.

"You know exactly what you're doing...so do I..." Batman spoke solidly to the younger male in his arms, deep brown watching over glazed blue as Jonathan caught his breath.

Jonathan blinked at the patient, resilient brown orbs holding his gaze with so much sincerity, so much restrained urgency and promise and emotion that Crane could not help but throw his arms around Batman's neck and bring their lips together again.

Crane licked Bruce's upper lip, their eyes sliding shut contentedly as their chests rubbed together, and the brown-haired male obligingly parted his lips just as Batman slipped his tongue inside his mouth.

Nails scratched down armor-plated Kevlar as Jonathan swirled his tongue with Bruce's warm, moist muscle inside his mouth, Scarecrow allowing the masked renegade to fully taste everything he had to offer.

Batman growled in pleasure, his hands running up Jonathan's back, tightening his hold on him, as he lured Crane's tongue inside his own mouth, suggestively sucking on the velvet-soft muscle.

"...nnh..." the former psychiatrist shivered in pleasure against the dark knight, his lips closing and kissing Wayne chastely, telling him without words just how much his ministrations meant to him personally.

"I promise...I won't let anything happen to you," Batman confessed, his voice a mere whisper to the beautiful male holding onto him with so much delightful desperation, as he brought his black-gloved hands up to either side of Jonathan's jaw.

Keeping close, Crane closed his eyes as he felt Bruce stroke his thumbs across his high cheekbones, an expression of lovely peace and intriguing clarity smoothing out Crane's porcelain features as Batman gazed affectionately at the man before him.

"...your butler is a really nice guy," Jonathan commented with a growing smile, the criminal mastermind obviously more than relaxed as he peered meaningfully at Batman's half-hidden features, his touches still firm along the Wayne heir's chest as he continued to smile a charming smile.

Bruce chuckled shortly, appreciating Jonathan's endearing humor as well as finding himself genuinely fascinated by how multifaceted the young doctor truly was.

He was beautifully human, flawed and perfect at the same time...just like Bruce, and the Wayne heir felt inexplicably drawn to him.

"_I still can't believe it...I can't believe what just happened with him right now..."_ Batman pondered in the space of a few seconds, watching as Jonathan lowered his gaze and let his hands fall away from Bruce's chest, _"...but I'm glad...glad that...he's not rejecting me...glad that he looks so happy right now...that I did that."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_Two days later..._

Crane took another drink of coffee before setting down the mug, the doctor currently sitting at the table by his cot, lightly reading over the morning newspaper articles and letting the breakfast he had just finished eating settle comfortably.

"Huh...stocks are back up...Wayne Enterprises is doing really well...mmm...another murder in Gotham City...that makes four in two days..." Jonathan spoke to himself out loud, his fingers touching over the warm handle of his coffee cup as he chewed a little on his lips.

"...something feels wrong...these murders; they're random but they're frequent...and violent," Crane continued to ponder the latest mystery that was beginning to shock the media and puzzle law enforcement.

Jonathan leaned back in his chair and set down the paper, feeling troubled by the apparent rise in violent crimes throughout the city but in such a way that he was not able to put his finger on.

"_I wonder...the Joker's last broadcast was just a few days ago, the same time as these strange murders started happening...could he be behind this?"_ Scarecrow thought to himself glumly, staring at the plain tabletop and listening to the far-away chirps of a few of the bats that were still sleeping in the nooks of the cave, _"...he did say when he found me, it was not going to be pretty...could this have been what he had meant...? Impossible..."_

"...impossible," Jonathan voiced, running his tongue over his bottom lip, "...there's no way he would be able to find out I'm here...no one..."

However, the former head of Arkham shot up from his chair and whirled around upon hearing a very distinct sound coming from by the waterfall, his genius mind stilling and racing at the same time.

"Ha ha ha ha hee hee heh ho ho heh ha..." a slippery voice pierced through the air, sending frozen shivers to trail down Jonathan's spine, his eyes widening as he saw several, masked man with guns walk through the falling water and into the cave.

Jonathan's breathing halted for a moment, his eyes widening in fright at the painted clown masks that covered their faces but Crane focused still on the waterfall for the one person whom he was expecting now had yet to show up.

"...nothing's impossible, Jonny...you just gotta...get things moving in the right direction," Joker announced his presence, walking calmly through the pouring water and not even bothering to shake out his long, purple coat.

"Joker..." Jonathan spoke, his voice breaking in the middle of the word much to his building anxiety as he watched as the scarred criminal sociopath walked casually through the puddles and onto the rocky surface of the cave, his gloved hands folded behind his back.

"Uh, that's my name, don't wear it out..." Joker quipped, his voice sickeningly twisted as he almost spoke like a sinister child to the slender doctor in his sights, "...so, how have you been, Scarecrow? From the looks of things...it looks like you have uh...downgraded your living arrangements a bit, hm?"

Jonathan inhaled a large amount of air, trying to steady his resolve and make sense of the situation, as he pursed his full lips and turned to face the Joker directly.

"What do you want? How did you find me?" Crane had to ask the questions that had been plaguing his mind ever since he had heard from Batman that the Joker was looking for him.

Joker cocked his head to a side as he approached the smaller, brown-haired male, his unreadable eyes watching Jonathan's face carefully as he briefly wet his lips with his tongue before replying.

"You see...Jonny, if I may..." Joker spoke almost affectionately to the young man before him, his eyes trailing over Scarecrow's lovely features and down his chest before locking eyes with him again, "...we could use someone like you on our team. I plan on giving this city every bit of chaos it deserves and you...you would be just perfect to help me do that. So, what do you say?"

Jonathan swallowed hard, the words flooding his mind that he was a changed man, that he had kissed Batman, that he wanted nothing to do with crime anymore, that the idea sounded somewhat tempting, but that he was also trying to be a better person no matter what temptation lie in waiting.

"...I..." Jonathan spoke, hating how the word was a mere breath of air and that the Joker stepped even closer to him to be able to hear him, "...I can't. I want no part of something like that...not anymore."

Joker blinked dully at Jonathan's ice-blue eyes, seemingly unimpressed or unconvinced by such a declaration coming from Gotham City's first true criminal mastermind.

"It's interesting that you feel that way, my dear Scarecrow..." Joker preambled another point to be made to the ex-psychiatrist, turning his back and walking away from him for a moment before spinning around to face him once again, "...tell me...do you even know where you are...?"

Crane's eyebrows rose at the question being asked of him.

"Well...um..." Jonathan croaked, failing to find proper words to speak as his nervousness began to increase within himself upon hearing Joker's new tactics.

"I didn't think that you did..." Joker waggled a finger at him comically, clasping a hand on one of his henchman's shoulders as he stepped along a few of the rocks as he continued to speak to a befuddled Crane, "...do you want to know how we found you, Dr. Crane?"

"H-how...?" Jonathan took the bait and hated himself for it.

Joker smiled darkly.

"You see...that night that one of my men tried to talk to you...we followed you, Jonny-boy...we followed you all the way here, but there's something particularly interesting about this place and you know what that is?" Joker spoke flamboyantly, not waiting for Jonathan to answer as he practically hopped to be right in front of Crane's face again, "...the closest house next to this...cave...is the Wayne place."

"Wayne?" Jonathan spoke before his mind could halt the action, the doctor looking away from the sociopath's partially painted face for a moment while he let the information process, "...as in, Bruce Wayne?"

"Uh, the one and the same...his house...is...right over top...of here," Joker took his time in saying such a sentence, a finger pointed upwards before he used his hand to brush back some of his stringy, green-colored hair, "...and you know what I think? I think that that means...that Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy orphan that he is...is uh...the Bat."

Jonathan blinked, letting the logic hit him with all of its implied weight, his mind quickly checking facts and searching for any errors in what Joker had just told him.

"Preposterous...even if he was, what difference would it make?" Jonathan spoke weakly, not even believing his own words, as he flinched when Joker snapped two of his fingers together, signaling for his men.

"Hmm. You've been out of the game for far too long, Crane," Joker said with a psychotic chuckle as he men flanked his sides and walked straight towards Jonathan, immediately grabbing onto both of his arms and forcing him down onto his knees, "...with this kind of ammunition, we can do...anything. You following me?"

Jonathan grit his teeth as the masked men handled him harshly, keeping his arms restrained as one of the henchmen grabbed his jaw and forced him to continue looking up at Joker.

"Let's do it, Jonny...just me and you...let us...kill the Bat," Joker offered effortlessly, his voice dancing and his eyes blown wide in merriment as he watched over the struggling brunette male, "...kill the Bat, kill everyone he loves, burn this place down to the ground, then uh...then it can just be the two of us."

Anger flared within Jonathan's lithe frame upon hearing the last of Joker's offers to him, knowing that his treatment would be no better from Joker than it had been from Joker's goon Mickey if he were to be given the chance.

As quickly as Crane's anger blossomed within his chest, so did worry...

Joker had mentioned killing everyone Batman loved.

That meant his butler, the kind, gentle butler that had been taking care of Jonathan for the better part of three days...talking to him like any normal person, fixing him food, consoling him when he needed it, and just...being there for him as if they had been friends for a while.

And it meant Batman himself.

The masked man, who had saved him from Joker's would-be rapist at the bar that night, who had given him a place to hide for while...that man who had touched his face with so much affection and patience, and had kissed him as if he had been dying to do so for a long time.

It had felt wonderful...extraordinary even to Scarecrow.

The vigilante's lips had been like tasting forgiveness wrapped in silk as they had captured his own lips again and again, the sensations having made Jonathan tremble with pure, untarnished life coursing through him from which his blackness felt absolved and sense brought back to him.

And Batman's promise...

"_I promise...I won't let anything happen to you,"_

"No!" Jonathan yelled out suddenly, remembering the caped crusader's whispered words to him just a few days ago and just how much he cherished them dearly, the criminal not being able to remember a time he had felt so safe and wanted before his time with the mysterious man dressed in black,"...no! None of it! I'll have none of it, you hear me, you fucking bastard!"

"Hmm..." Joker seemed unperturbed by Scarecrow's abrupt outburst as he struggled even harder against his goons, "...uh, wrong answer, Jonny. Now you've really hurt my feelings."

_Bam!_

Jonathan hunched forward, his beautiful face scrunched with pain as one of Joker's men had punched him squarely in his unprotected stomach, making the smaller man have to gasp for air as he neared the ground.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" came a pleasantly accented but distraught voice from behind several bookcases, catching everyone's attention as Alfred rushed to the scene.

Jonathan looked towards the sound of the familiar voice that had called out, his twinge of fear exploding inside his chest the moment he saw the white-haired old butler stopping dead in his tracks upon seeing the masked criminals.

Alfred looked down and spotted Crane on his knees on the ground, his wrinkled eyes widening.

"Good Lord...Dr. Crane..." Alfred spoke softly, his gaze heart broken as he held Jonathan's gaze for only a moment more before having to snap his attention to the one brute coming towards him.

"...Al...?" Crane whispered voicelessly as he watched the friendly caretaker look upon the henchman in unmistakeable terror.

Something in the psychiatrist snapped.

"No! Leave him alone!" Jonathan shouted, springing up from his spot on the ground and dashing to Alfred's side, pushing passed the nearing goon in the process.

Jonathan did not stop his steps until he was standing in front of the frightened butler, spun around to face the henchman, and then with a lift of his arm, snatched off the man's clown mask and sprayed the hidden canister in his jacket sleeve of concentrated fear toxin right into his face.

"Ahh! Ahhh!" the man immediately covered his face with his hands, screaming and thrashing around for a moment before toppling to the ground and continuing to convulse, white foam oozing from his mouth and choking him at an alarming rate.

Crane was out of breath but continued to stand protectively in front of Alfred, the bottom half of his dress shirt hanging out of his pants and his jacket ruffled as he watched as the other goon that had accompanied Joker took a few steps back towards his boss.

Joker clucked his tongue and then clapped his hands together slowly, surprisingly everyone in the room.

"See...that's what I like about you, Jon..." Joker winked comically at Crane as he began to take measured steps towards him and the butler, "...you're just full of surprises; you never really know what to expect. Now...here's the deal."

Jonathan held out an arm to his side, his sky-colored eyes never wavering from the Joker as the madman drew closer, the gesture telling Alfred to stay behind him no matter what.

"You come with me now...and we won't kill the Wayne family's last concierge..." Joker offered coldly, licking his teeth and eying Jonathan with even more ice.

"Dr. Crane..." Alfred murmured from behind Scarecrow, not posing a question, not hinting anything particular...just Alfred Pennyworth addressing the young man standing before him, sympathetically saying his name as if it might be the last time.

Jonathan took a deep, steadying breath, knowing that he did not have too many other options at this point.

He would not let the one honest friend he had made since becoming a villain of Gotham City be murdered because of him.

Crane brought his hands to the lapels of his jacket and fixed them calmly.

"Let's go," he replied shortly to Joker, purposefully not watching as the painted criminal narrowed his steely eyes and smirked happily at Jonathan's answer before stepping aside in a grand gesture to allow Jonathan to walk out ahead of him and his one remaining henchman.

Jonathan walked towards the waterfall, hearing the thuds of footsteps behind him from the Joker and his man, and took one, last look towards the butler behind him.

Crane looked upon Alfred's shocked face warmly in that moment, this having been the first real time he had seen the other man, and he tried to muster a small smile to show his gratitude before a rough shove against his shoulder propelled him forward and through the pouring water.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_A few hours later..._

"...that's what happened, sir...I'm sorry...I wasn't able to do more..." Alfred lamented, his voice broken and his gaze lowered as he leaned back against the metal table within the batcave, pressing a folded white handkerchief to his forehead.

"Don't apologize, Alfred..." Bruce spoke up quickly, his mask in his hands as he walked from one end of the cave to the next, actively seeming to look for something, anything...anything that appeared out of the ordinary that would catch his attention.

"I've got to get him back," the Wayne heir finally stopped his endless strides amongst the dark, rocky ground as he spun around to look upon his sullen butler once more, "...I've got to track him somehow, where they took him. Joker and his men had enough time to follow him here and plan their next move...that means that they're possible they are close by."

Alfred nodded his head in understanding, holding the handkerchief in both hands.

"He protected me, Master Wayne...I just stood there..." Alfred repeated, his heart heavy within his chest as he lowered his head once more, looking down at the pristine cloth in his hands that he pulled on the edges while he remembered the way Jonathan had rushed to stand in between him and the brutish thug that had approached.

Batman swallowed hard, the image of Alfred looking distraught and crestfallen personally bringing the young vigilante emotional and physical pain to be felt as he walked closer to his butler.

"Can you believe he had his fear toxin this whole time..." Alfred posed the rhetorical statement to the Wayne heir, lifting his thoughtful gaze to Bruce's patient one, "...he could have used it...at any time...on me or on you, but he didn't...the only time he used it was to get that vile behemoth away from me."

Bruce dropped his head in thought, knowing that Alfred's words were weighing heavily on his mind, as such a revelation that Jonathan had had a weapon the entire time he had been in the batcave with himself and with his defenseless butler...and had chosen not to use his fear toxin at all...until a threat had actually posed one of them...meant all the difference in the world.

Batman he knew that aside from how proud he felt of Jonathan, the hope that had peeked from behind a shadow that Crane was a changed man...Bruce Wayne knew that he genuinely owed the criminal mastermind for protecting his dearest friend.

"Bring him back, sir...if I may be so bold as to say...bring him back," Alfred broke the silence again, more strength present in his voice as he addressed the caped crusader once more, gripping tightly onto his handkerchief.

Bruce lifted his head right away upon hearing those words, that tone.

"I will," he promised.

X

Meanwhile...

"Sit, sit...Jonny...welcome to our humble abode. Feel free to uh...make yourself at home," Joker offered in mock politeness to the young man slowly following suit and stepping further into the abandoned factory.

Boxes and crates, tables and messily arranged chairs filled the majority of the space, a large amount of the tightly framed windows being broken or busted out completely, which offered natural light of day to illuminate this place and that throughout the area.

A few more men were sitting at one of the tables, playing cards and drinking noisily, from what Jonathan could ascertain in a quick glance their way, as Crane continued to follow Joker towards them.

"Gentlemen...we have a visitor," Joker announced his presence as well as introduced Scarecrow, the seated men lifting up their heads from their game and immediately gazing upon the new face in their ranks, "...he's here to help us out with our latest awakening project. No one goes near him...and no one touches him...not without going through me first, got it?"

Jonathan had his arms wrapped around his lithe frame as he cast Joker a side-glance upon hearing his warning, his ears only half-listening to the few grumbled agreements from the men before they resumed their poker game.

"What is it exactly that you want from me? You still haven't told me yet why you brought me here..." Jonathan demanded in his effortlessly smooth voice, the tone naturally low and impossible lovely even though Crane had wanted to sound dead serious to the psychopathic clown before him.

"Ha...I thought you'd never ask..." Joker laughed before kicking out one of the chairs and sitting down haphazardly, motioning quickly for Jonathan to do the same.

Crane sat down slowly, unfolding his arms from around his body and placing his hands flat on top of his thighs as he peered cautiously across the few feet that separated himself from the notorious madman and his goons.

"I need you to make more of your terror gas, Jonny..." Joker spoke gravely, licking his scars a few times as he leaned forward in his chair, staring at the smaller, younger male before him with an almost predatory look in his eyes, "...liquid form, gas form in cans, whatever you want to do; I just need it and I need a lot of it."

Jonathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, having to cast his eyes off to a side for a moment while he gathered his thoughts together and briefly wet his own drying lips.

"There are...quite a few, very intricate ingredients that go into that formula," Crane searched for an excuse, something that would allow there to be time before anything was expected of him, "...I'll need supplies, and...and a quiet place to work..."

Joker smirked, instantly making Scarecrow think that he had seen right through his every word.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Jonny boy..." Joker stated calmly as he reclined back in his fold-out chair, still keeping his menacing, demanding gaze locked onto Crane's ice-blue orbs, "...we'll get you whatever you need. You just make some kind of list and we'll take care of that part."

A few of the henchmen chuckled at Joker's words from Jonathan's side, catching his attention for a moment, a moment that Joker used to his advantage.

Suddenly, the painted male sprang forward from his chair and grabbed Jonathan's arm and chin, leaning over his sitting form and immediately invading every inch of his personal space.

"Don't...disappoint me, Jonathan Crane..." Joker practically sang in a hushed voice as he used his hold on the brunette's chiseled face to slightly turn his head to a side, Joker not seeming to mind the frightened and confused look Scarecrow was giving him, "...I really don't want to have to be angry with you...you are...far too beautiful to be angry at...and I'd really hate to have to mess up these lips of yours..."

Joker ran his gloved thumb across Crane's full lips, making them move, his eyes lowered to the movement as he took his time in keeping such a close proximity to the former psychiatrist.

Jonathan flicked his light-colored gaze up to the purple-clad sociopath, instantly despising his unwanted touches and greasy stares that make Crane feel filthy underneath his clothes, and it was in this moment that he made up his mind about his situation.

"Mmm..." Joker somewhat growled low in his throat, seemingly in thought, as he slid his hands away from Jonathan's jaw and stood to his full height, looking over him for a moment more before turning on his heel and beginning to walk away, "...we start first thing tomorrow, Jonny...don't be late!"

Crane let out a shaky breath of relief, remembering that the Joker's goons were just at his side seated at their card game, as he cordially stood up from his chair, adjusted his suit jacket sleeves, and then began walking towards the back rooms of the facility.

Jonathan Crane was going to fight, he was not going to do as the Joker wanted, even if the idea was remotely tempting...because it was not what he wanted, not what he was trying to do with his life anymore.

This would not be Joker's call to make and Jonathan would be damned if he was just going to do whatever that painted maniac wanted.

Jonathan shivered upon recalling Joker's touches, hating them still as they lingered on his body and mind, and Crane could not help but silently yearn to see Batman.

Batman's touches had been slow and meaningful, the masked vigilante treating him like something absolutely precious and needing taking care of, as he had gently, carefully praised Jonathan's cheeks with his fingers and had pressed the softest of kisses to his lips.

Crane swallowed hard, a hollow sensation feeling even more so within his stomach as he navigated to an empty room of the safe-house and called it his own, the doctor missing the man dressed in black immensely at the moment.

"Just get through this...just get though this...then you get break out when you know how..." Jonathan whispered to himself, switching on a dull yellow light in the room and padding quickly to a rather large, leather chair in the corner to sit down.

Jonathan snatched off his glasses and hastily ran the side of his sleeve down his face before replacing the glasses back over his eyes, mentally not allowing himself to despair or panic about his seemingly dire situation as he leaned back in the comfortable chair and closed his eyes.

"I'll just need to buy some time...send them on wild goose chases for different chemicals and then make the wrong stuff...they'll never know...and it will give me enough time to get out of here," Crane sorted out his thoughts, offering himself a twinge of comfort in having such a plan lain in his mind, before the brown-haired male fell into a light sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_Two days later..._

"No...no, what I'm telling you is that it's not ready yet..." Jonathan Crane attempted to explain the situation to Joker's clueless henchmen, his suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he stood over several hastily scrawled papers and chemical containers, "...you told me to make enough to fill a city...well, that's exactly what I'm doing...it takes time."

Scarecrow took off his glasses and wiped the back of his wrist against his brow, frustrated by the painted madman's unreasonable demands of him as well as having gotten very little sleep the past few nights he had been held in the abandoned facility.

Jonathan had remained on his guard around Joker and his men since he had first arrived, ceaselessly keeping track of their individual movements so he would know where they would be around the building at all times.

He needed to know when he would have time to himself so he could plan out an escape route.

His slowly growing progress was also wearing the good doctor's patience thin.

"The boss man says you're running low on time...he wants a test run done in two hours..." one of the burly goons announced coldly, he and his companion standing menacingly around Crane, gazing at his slender frame as if he was a piece of meat on display.

Jonathan turned around, blatant disbelief written on his face as he shook his head and dropped his hands.

Truth be told, for the passed two days, Jonathan Crane had been sending Joker's men on carefully thought-out hunts for chemicals and compounds that had nothing to do with his fear toxin.

The men had crowded his working space with boxes filled with tubes and beakers and jars full of liquid that was as harmless as it all was useless.

Jonathan knew he had not been making the fear toxin...

And now Joker wanted a sample of his work.

"That...that's impossible..." Jonathan smirked humorlessly at the goons, his smile not reaching his ice-blue eyes that could barely hide the slight panic that had flashed across them for a moment, "...you see, this is highly delicate work, work that neither one of you two bird-brains could never hope to understand..."

The two henchmen looked at each other before turning back towards Crane, immediately advancing on the lithe male with anger etched into their wide faces.

"Hey, wait! Hold on! Get off!" Jonathan called out at once, having not expected for the mindless goons to retaliate as they both grabbed a hold of his arms and legs, hoisting his struggling form up and over top of the metal table in the room.

"Shut your fucking mouth, Scarecrow..." one of the men grumbled uncaringly as they both slammed his body down upon the table, keeping him place with their merciless grip on him.

"I don't know...the way he looks, maybe we should call him 'princess'...what do you think...?" the other man chuckled with his gravel-laced voice, both of the men built like brick-walls laughing at Crane's expense as one of them ran a meaty hand down Jonathan's stomach.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Goddamn...let me out of here!" the brunette hollered seethingly, struggling even harder against their unwanted touches and harsh treatment.

"Well, now...gentlemen...it doesn't seem that our...guest much appreciates your...uh...manners," a distinct voice carried through the air, cut through the overbearing noise with barely raising in volume, as all went instantly quiet so they may listen.

The rough hands roaming over Jonathan's body stopped in an instant as the henchman turned towards their painted employer, leaving Crane lying on the table as he also cocked his head to a side so he could also seek out Joker.

Joker was staring directly at Jonathan's lying form with a glint in his eyes and a wide grin on his scarred face, the man dressed in purple and green practically sauntering into the room as he eyed the situation.

"I believe..." Joker sang sinisterly, "...that we have all gathered here for a demonstration from the good doctor...alright."

Jonathan sprang up from the table, pushing passed the two goons as he smoothed his hand down the front of his shirt and then brushed some of his hair out of his eyes.

"Uh...it's...not exactly ready yet...for testing, and I uh...need some more time," Jonathan spoke as calmly as he could, his tone naturally silken but even he could tell he was nervous.

Joker pursed his lips and cocked his head to a side, seeming to ponder over what Scarecrow had said or nothing at all.

Joker fixed his hard glare on Jonathan's face, the two criminals facing each other closely with Joker's henchman at Crane's back.

"Jonny..." Joker began in his strange, high-pitched tone as he rolled his neck around once, "...that's...not...gonna...work for me..."

Scarecrow swallowed hard at the sociopath's obvious displeasure with me, careful not to avert his eyes or show too much of his fear.

Abruptly, Joker grabbed onto one of Jonathan's arms and yanked him towards his work table, nearly shoving him against it as he jostled the smaller man in his grasp while he spoke.

"Do it, Jonny...do it! I want you to do it, I want you to do it...now!" Joker roared at the former psychiatrist, using his free hand to knock over various beakers and vials that were neatly organized on the surface of the table.

"Ugh...s-stop...let me go!" Crane tried to pull his arm out of Joker's grasp but to no avail as the madman continued to pick up tube after tube, holding each one up to Crane's frightened face and then smashing it down on the ground.

"...let's see...it is this one? No...is it this one...? This one? Tell me! Do it now, Crane, or you die!" Joker yelled, swiping his hand across the table and knocking over even more jars and arrangements of contained compounds that made Jonathan cringe at the horrible noises of shattering glass.

"If you don't want to tell me which one it is...then I will just have to start using them on you..." Joker reasoned maniacally, cackling at the end of his sentence as he now began taking his time in selecting one of the vials of serum from the table.

In a blind haste, Jonathan snatched the tube out of Joker's gloved hand and splashed the green-tinted liquid right in his face, knowing that the solution was not the fear toxin Joker had wanted, but that it would buy him enough time to hopefully get away from the crazed clown.

"Aaghh!" Joker exclaimed in pain, releasing Crane as he brought both of his hands to his face, but then quickly forced his eyes open so he may rear his heavy fist back and punch Crane squarely in his jaw.

Scarecrow toppled to the ground, his ears ringing a bit and his vision blurring from such a point-blank blow as he could just barely register how Joker's two henchman had rushed over to their flailing boss and were asking him if he was okay.

"Kill him!" Joker ordered his two thugs, the greasy white and black paint smearing together and running down his face from the burning sensation from the liquid Jonathan had poured on him, as he continued to dab at his eyes and gain his bearings.

Jonathan's breath caught in his throat, his vision clearing just enough to see the two burly men coming towards him.

Crane hurried to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his jaw, but as soon as he had spun around to try to run for the door, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder and prevented him from going any further.

"Shit...get the fuck off of me...!" Jonathan growled in between clenched teeth, trying to knock away the hand that held too tightly onto his shoulder but was suddenly thrown backwards from the sheer brute force of the towering male.

"Ugh...!" Crane voiced out as his back came into contact with the tiled, filthy wall, the back of his head rapping once against the wall as well and causing the criminal to slowly close his eyes as darkness washed over him entirely.

Jonathan was barely conscious, forcing his genius mind to keep moving, keep working, so he may remain somewhat aware of his surroundings even though his vision was still spotting and it felt like all of his energy had just been zapped from his body.

The brown-haired male tried to move his tongue around, tasting a bit of blood but knowing that he wanted to swallow it down in order to alert himself even more, but something caught his fading attention straight away.

Jonathan heard the two men take three steps each towards him before suddenly stopping and then taking faster steps away from him, their far-away-sounding voices calling out something before Scarecrow could hear the very present noises of exclamations of pain.

The cries from the henchmen overlapped each other, each one sounding more distance than the one before it and Jonathan could only assumed that they were being chased.

Jonathan carefully blinked his eyes open, his vision hazy and unclear as he slowly pushed his weight up with his arms as he attempted to stand up from the ground.

Red blood dotted the floor here and there, Joker was nowhere to be found, and Jonathan could make out a figure dressed totally in black rushing over to him from the room outside of his own, leaving the motionless goons in his wake.

Crane scrunched his eyes closed again and brought a hand to his aching jaw, cradling it against his palm for a moment, before opening his eyes and looking upon none other than Batman himself.

"...Crane...Jonathan...can you hear me...? Are you alright?" the masked vigilante asked, a frightening image of pure black amidst a place so otherwise well-illuminated, and Jonathan had to look up in order to see his face.

Batman lightly held onto either of Scarecrow's arms, Bruce peering right into Jonathan's half-lidded eyes, seeing that the doctor was still trying to get back in touch with reality and possibly handle the immense pain that he was currently in.

"Alright...alright..." Batman murmured aloud, nodding his head to his own thoughts as he reached forward and carefully scooped Jonathan up into his arms, carrying him bridal-style and lowering his gaze as he felt Crane wrap his arms around his neck.

He felt light, his frame weak and his grip loose around Bruce's neck as Crane serenely closed his eyes as if it had been the first time in days he had done so.

The caped crusader frowned as he watched as Jonathan rested his head against his chest, trusting him completely, thankful that he was there and feeling safe because of it...and Batman felt his hatred flare dramatically towards Joker for making him like this.

"Let's get you home..."


End file.
